PORTLAND, Ore. — One student was killed and two other people were injured Monday night at Lewis and Clark College campus in Southwest Portland after a brick column collapsed, Portland Fire & Rescue said.
Fire and rescue crews responded to a report of multiple injuries just after 8:15 p.m. Crews learned a group of six people were in three hammocks hanging from the column. No one was pinned beneath the column. Some 911 callers reported that one person was seriously injured and people were performing CPR on him.
A 19-year-old man died at the scene and two 18-year-old women were taken to the hospital. Fire officials could not release the condition of the women, but said one of them had injuries to one arm and the other had abdominal injuries.
The names of the student who died and those who were injured have not been released.
The incident happened on the first day of classes for students.
"It wouldn't matter what day it was, this was tragic," said Terry Foster with Portland Fire & Rescue. "These kids are trying to adjust to college life, some of them for the first time, and it can be really challenging for them when they have this trauma."
Foster said finding the group of people on campus was a challenge because of the large campus. He added that the dispatch log showed the incident was located near the reflecting pool on campus.
Lewis and Clark College released a statement on their website.
"We are devastated to report that earlier this evening, a tragic accident occurred on the undergraduate campus in which one of our students was killed and two others were injured," the statement said.
The president of the college, Robin Holmes-Sullivan, sent a letter to the campus community on Tuesday. It stated grief counselors are working with students, faculty and staff.
A neighbor who lives near the campus, Randy Tesar, expressed sympathy for the students involved and their parents.
"First thing I thought of was how awful it would be for the parents, I mean, God... and you think, I don't know, how can that possibly happen? It's awful," he said.
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